An estimated 15,160 Hawai'i residents have or are projected to lose their health insurance coverage between January 2008 and December 2010, according to a study by Families USA, a consumer health organization.

The study reports that 100 Hawai'i residents will lose their health care each week during that three-year period. Nationally, 2.3 million Americans will lose their health care each year — 6.9 million by 2010.

The study points to the rising cost of health care premiums as the reason behind the statistic. Premium costs went up 119 percent from 1999 to 2008, Families USA said.

The study said that the "economic downturn is contributing to the problem but is not a main factor."

"The premiums are so high that private individuals don't pay for their own," said Beth Giesting, chief executive officer of the Hawai'i Primary Care Association, an organization that advocates for better health care through the state's network of community health centers.

Giesting said that she has noticed more people coming into the centers who do not have health care, but said that wasn't conclusive since many people without health care would stay home, and that there would be a delayed reaction of six to 12 months between losing your job and coming into the clinic.

Hawai'i is the only state that has a waiver from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, allowing it to require employers to offer health care coverage to full-time employees.

"We think (Hawai'i's plan) has been extremely healthful and since we have everyone in the insurance pool, it keeps premiums low, except for the legitimate complaints of the employers," Giesting said.

"Employers are more likely to hire several part-time workers at 19 hours a week, rather than a full-time employee, because of the added costs."

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, takes the report as a disheartening sign for the nation's health.

"Employers that do continue to offer health coverage are being forced to pass on the rising costs to their employees by imposing higher premiums or co-payments or by offering plans that cover fewer benefits," Pollack said.

"Other employers are choosing not to offer coverage at all because it is simply too expensive. Between 2000 and 2008, the share of firms offering health coverage declined by 6 percentage points, with small businesses being the most likely to drop coverage."

Families USA is a non-profit and nonpartisan advocate organization for U.S. health care consumers.